Dreaming of fictional “Supercomputers” in an age of AI.
The fictional idea of a "computer that can do anything" hasn't changed. Our idea of what "anything" means has.
Latest
Blog hiatus: Greetings from Los Angeles.
A film about knowledge and wonder: “The Name of the Rose” at 40.
The New Age hoax that won’t die: Carlos Castañeda’s long deadly legacy.
25 years on, we’ve forgotten 9/11, or at least what it could teach us.
Confessions of a talking head: My history TV show experience.
Interiors: First-class smoking room of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, about 1898.
The Verge
Dreaming of fictional “Supercomputers” in an age of AI.
The fictional idea of a "computer that can do anything" hasn't changed. Our idea of what "anything" means has.
A film about knowledge and wonder: “The Name of the Rose” at 40.
Interiors: First-class smoking room of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, about 1898.
Behind the Scenes: Star Trek and the Vietnam War (Part II).
Killing books: The sack of the University of Louvain library and its modern echoes.
A landmark 632 years in the making: the odyssey of Cologne Cathedral.
Historic Painting: “Giant Steamboats at New Orleans” by Hippolyte Sebron, 1853.
The Outer Garden
Blog hiatus: Greetings from Los Angeles.
I'm drowning in palm trees, smog and stolen water.
The New Age hoax that won’t die: Carlos Castañeda’s long deadly legacy.
25 years on, we’ve forgotten 9/11, or at least what it could teach us.
I think the AI bubble is about to burst, and here’s why.
Another concept illustration for “Faraway Star” has come out!
“The Odyssey” and “Backrooms”: Reclaiming cinema in 2026.
Historic Photo: Dubai Creek in 1964, compared to today.
The Inner Garden
Confessions of a talking head: My history TV show experience.
I was recently invited to be on a history documentary show. Here's my experience doing it.
Behind the Scenes: Star Trek and the Vietnam War (Part I).
Behind the Scenes: San Francisco That Survived.
Behind the Scenes: Akhenaten, Egypt’s Strangest King.
Behind the Scenes: Millard Fillmore, The Conspiracy Theorist President.
Behind the Scenes: TWA, The Rise & Fall.
